If you do not know anything about Fist of the North Star, then we already have something in common. When this game showed up I literally went to Wikipedia to see who Ken was and why is his fist so important. It turns out the series has a decent following as it is a Manga series based out of Japan. The rest is inconsequential. The game does not bring a whole lot to the table either.
This game is about one thing and one thing only. Punching the ever loving shit out of people. The game is that simplistic. You just whale away on people to boost a meter. Once that meter is full. you unleash some insane combo which can make the people fly across the screen and sometimes they will explode. Yes, death by explosion caused be severe punching. I’m not kidding. That happens a lot. Don’t expect variety in the combat or the enemies. It really doesn’t change a whole lot.
The game does not look very polished and could pass for a pretty good last gen game. Compared to other titles that are out there, it is very mediocre looking and that is being kind. You would think of a game that requires all melee combat for the fighting to be a great system. Well, it isn’t. This is a button masher if I ever saw one. Walk up to generic enemy (they all look the same), punch them, maybe they blow up, and move to the next. Repetitive is a nice way of putting it.
The game does not have a multiplayer or any co-op to it. There are a few characters to use in-game but they are mostly the same with the exception of special moves to unlock. Die hard fans will replay to unlock all the moves and skills, but most people, myself included, will sort of get bored in the first hour. The game is not terrible, but fans outside of the series likely have never even heard of it. This could be a bargain bin/beat a budget game over the weekend kind of thing, but at a full $60 bucks, your money is better spent elsewhere.
[A copy of the game was provided by the publisher for review purposes.]
I got tired of it while playing the demo. THAT is saying something.